Petroleum consumption rises 5.5%

As per data posted by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, fuel consumption-a proxy for oil demand-totalled 14.03 million tonnes last month. The 5.52 per cent increase was driven by higher gasoline sales, which reflected a surge in passenger vehicles sales.There was a boost in demand for petrol-driven cheaper vehicles, as India ended subsidies on diesel sales in October and demand, fuel oil rose 25.4 per cent in July. Last month´s improved monsoon rains and electricity supply also dented sales of diesel, widely used by farmers for running gensets to irrigate farm lands.